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STEAW 0R FEED GUTTER. y No. 477,339. Patented June 21, 1892.

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STRAW 0R FEED GUTTER.

No. 477,339. PatentedJune 21,1892.

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' STRAW 0R FEED GUTTER.

No. 477,339. Patented June 21, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

l-IIRAM MOORE SMITH, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO ELIZABETH LOUISE SMITH, OF SAME PLACE.

STRAW OR FEED CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 477,339, dated June 21, 1892. Application filed February 20, 1892. Serial No, 422,281. (No model.)

To 'all whom, zit may concern..-

Be it known that l, HIRAM MOORE SMITH,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Straw or Feed Cutters, of which the following is aspeciication, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in straw and hay cutters having feed-hoppers of Wood-that is to say, hoppers each formed with a bottom and side walls of wood-and having axles or shafts parallel to the hoppers, each axle or shaft having an arm attached, with suitable projections for receiving the cutting blade. This arm is oscillated by hand or rotated by power, the effects in both casesbeing the same, except that in the latter more Work can be accomplished. Heretofore in constructing these machines t-he hopper had to be shod with steel at the front edge or provided with a mouthpiece presenting a steel face for the oscillating knife to bear against while the material is being cut. The making of this mouthpiece or ledger, the carving of the Wood so as to shape it properly to rect-ive the mouthpiece, and the fastening of the latter in place by the screws have made the machine very expensive. To obviate this and to reduce the expense in making these machines `to the minimum, I (instead of making the ordinary simple bracket attached to the bottom of the hopper with flanges Vfor the legs and a projection for the axle or knifeshaft)'make a bracket which has the side Walls or wingsl to receive the wooden parts, which Walls give great strength to the hopper and resist all lateral pressure, and at the same time form at the front edge a lip extending forwardly around the ends of the sides and upin front of the bottom of the hopper, so as to providea face corresponding to or lying in the plane in which the knife oscillates when it is cutting.

Figure 1 isa frontend view of cutter containing my improvements. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig.3 is apartial section. Fig.4isasec tion on line w w, Fig. 1, of the Inouthpiececastingdetached from the wooden parts, taken on the line y y, Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a front elesaid casting.

vation, and Fig. 5a is across-section, of the Fig. 6 shows in front view the end of one of the machines which I have constructed heretoforeand upon which the present is an improvement. Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the partsshown in Fig. 6, taken on. the line a a. Fig. 8 is an elevation from the' side opposite to that in Fig. 2. Fig. 9 is a section on line z z, Fig'. S. Figs. 10, 11, and 6o 12 are a vertical section, an end View, and a top view of the rear cutter-shaft bearing. Fig. 13 is a top plan view, partly in section, of the cutter-shaft and both bearings. Fig. 14 shows the axle pattern and mold.

c In the drawings, A represents the hopper, it having side walls a a, bottom a', and a top piece a2.

B B indicate legs or supports on which the machine stands.

The casting for the mouthpiece or bracket which I provide is indicated at 'C as a whole, it having side parts c c and the bottom c2 all formed integrally. These parts c c are comparatively Wide backWardly-extending Walls or wings adapted to lie outside of the side pieces of thewooden hopper, and the part c2 is a similar wall or wing lying below and extending back from the front end of the wooden bottom piece. With these parts there is also 8o formed the bearing c3, extending out laterally, and the downwardly-projecting sockets or flanges c4 c4, the former being utilized to support the shaft or axle which carries the oscillating knife and the latter for receiving the legs B B. v i

The stationary ledger-knife is represented by c5, it also being integral with the abovedescribed casting and projecting from the side and bottom Walls c c c2. Theknife part oo is chilled and subsequently ground and polished, so as to present no hinderance to the movements ofthe oscillating knife. The last said knife or cutter is indicated by D, it being secured, as aforesaid, to the shaft or axle D', 95 mounted in the bearing c3. This movable knife is preferably of the sort shown, it havving a shank or handle part and a cutter-plate secured thereto.

The uses to which my improvement are put Ioo and the advantages incident to it will be -understood by a comparison thereof With-the construction which I have heretofore used and which is partially illustrated in Figs. G and 7. Heretofore a steel forging E was required at the front end of the box or hopper, the Wooden pieces of the latter being carved out or rabbeted to receive the forging, and the front edge of this forging was depended on to receive the wear and bearing of the swinging knife. It will be seen that I do away with this entirely, and that with the single casting above described I not only provide a stationary or ledger knife, but also provide a strong holder or brace for firmly holding together the several parts of thewoodcn hopper and prevent them from being forced apart when the machine is being subjected to strain while in use.

BHV-examination of Figsjl and it will be seen that one of the side walls of the casting (that at c) is at right anglespractically tothe bottom part, but that the other side is inclined at an angle thereto, the relations of the parts in that respect being such as to give the proper amount of draw for the knives when cutting, and from Figs. 3 and 4 it will be seen that the parts c, c', and c2 of the mouthpiece are countersunk, so that the wooden parts shall be flush with the ledgerknife, and thus no obstruction is offered to the material as it is pushed through the box or hopper, and at the same time I obviate the necessity of carving or cutting the wood. The earlier machines were not only much ymore expensive in these respects, but were much less durable and strong, so many separate parts being required and being fastened together practically only by the screws. In them a special casting was necessary for receiving the legs, while in the present ma chine the wooden and other parts are relieved from strain from the legs or supports, as the latter are also carried by the casting.

straw cutters, and it is for these that the present invention is more particularly intended. In another important respect the machine herein differs from those heretofore made which were of the same general class. The axle or shaft Dis mounted in two boxes or bearings, one being, as aforesaid, situated at about the place indicated by c3. The other is farther back and by the side of the hopper. The drawings illustrate the manner of constructing and arranging this rear bearing and support for the shaft. At F there is a casting having the bottom platef and the side vwingsf, together with the downwardlyextending leg-sockets f2 f3. WVith the socketpiece f2 and the side wingf there is'formed a vertically-arranged web or plate G, it being 'integral with the parts above mentioned. It has an aperture at g somewhat larger than the diameter of the axle D, so that the latter shall be somewhat loose therein to permit it to be adj usted. At the sides of this apertureg there are slots g. The bearing proper axle being indicated by c 3 d4.

is indicated by II Il', there being duplicate parts-an upper and a lower one-each having a vertical plate H2 and a horizontal recessed part H3 H3. h2 h2 are perforated ears for bolts ,which fasten the parts H H together, and h h are passages for bolts h3,

which clamp the bearing as a whole to the wing G. By constructing and arranging these parts in the way described all of the necessary adjustments are readily provided for. l

lt will be readily understood that from any 1 one of several causes the relations of the oscillating knife to the stationary or ledger knife will be varied so that the cutting-edges will not be in proper contact throughout their length. Sometimes that end of the knife D which is the nearest to the shaft will be closer to or farther from the plane of the chilled ledger-knife than the otherend-that is to say, t-he two knives will not be in parallel planesand therefore the cutting action will be impeded. At such time in ord-er to provide the proper adjustment it is only necessary to loosen the bolts h3 and move the bearing H H in one direction or the other, and thereby bring the oscillating knife perfectly parallel to the face of the ledger-knife. If at such time or at any other it is found necessary to draw the oscillating knife back toward ,the face of the stationary knife, a liner or washer of suitable thickness can he inserted between the web or plate G and either or each end of the bearing-plate H2. A

The length of the axle D is such that the looseness of its fit in the bearing c3, which is 1 practically as tight as is ordinarily obtained 1 with castings, is sufficient to allow the adjustment of the rear end above described. Vhatever looseness is necessary can be provided without impairing the effective operation of t the cutting parts. The earlier machines referred to are those which are known widely as Smiths hay and Heretofore these machines have been so constructed as to require much more expensive parts in order to attain the ends which I have described, including malleable-iron clips with threaded stems and bolts, the stems passing through the bearing-arm and being adapted to draw in one direction or the other. By the present improvement I am enabled to connect and support all of the parts and to pro vide for their relative adjustment by means of four cheaply-constructed castings. The axle or shaft itself D is made much more cheaply than those heretofore in use. It Will be seen that it has at one end an expanded head D2 for the attachment of the knife-arm, and at the other end a smaller head cl2, which lies in the rear of and is held in place by the bearing-piece at H H', the journal portions'of this Heretofore in order to have the oscillating knife accurately related to the ledger-knife it has been necessary to center these axles in a lathe after casting and turn down the journal parts, because of the manner in which the bearings were constructed and fitted and the axle was cast.

IOO

IIO

By maki ng these parts in the way described I avoid the necessity of machine work upon the axle, as it can be introduced into the machine in the state in which it is cast and yet can be so adjusted as to place it the same as if it had been accurately shaped in a lathe or other machine. In order to cast it without requiring the usual numerous cores and in such a Way as to make it with the utmost cheapness,

I provide a two-part pattern, one part K cor-v respondingY to the head D2 and the main part d* of the axle and having a tapering extension at d5, and the otherpartK havingahead like that at dgand atubular sleeve part at d5. By means of a three-part ask it will be seen that I can form a mold Without the necessity of cores, as the longer part of the pattern can be readily drawn from the sand in one direction and the shorter .part as readily in the opposite direction. The metal axle when drawn from the sand, however, is of the shape shown in Figs. 8 and ll.

What I claim ifil l. In a hay or feed cutter, the combination of the front bracket having the side Walls which inclose the Wooden side pieces of the hopper ,and the front bearing c3, the rear bracket having the sockets f2 f3 for the legs, the oscillating knife, the shaft or axle D', supported on said brackets, and the laterally-adjustable bearing for the rear end of the knife# axle, substantially as sot forth. Y

2. The combination of the hopper, the front bracket, the separate rear bracket having the web G formed With the slots g and aperture g, the vibrating knife D, the rocking axle D', passed loosely through the aperture g and having the enlarged end cl2, and the bodilyadjustable bearin g, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the rear bracket having the side and bottom Walls c c' c2, the legsockets c4,and the bearing c3, the rear bracket having the leg-sockets, the oscillating knife, the axle D,having the head or ange d2, and the laterally-adjustable bearing for the rear end of the axle, substantially as set forth.

4:. The combination of the adjustable bearing II H', the rear bracket F, cast with an integral web G,having an aperture g, the front bracket C, having a permanently-closed bearing c3, the oscillating knife, and the axle mounted in the two said bearings and passing loosely through the rear bracket, substantially as set forth. e

5. The combination, with the oscillating knife and the axle, of a front bracket, and a separate rear bracket supporting the rear legs, and the adjustable bearing formed .in two similar parts, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of the oscillating knife, the rocking axle having its rear end mounted on the support for the rear legs, the front bracket or mouthpiece having the Wallsc c' c2 outside of the Wooden parts of the hopper, the leg-supports c4 c4, the chilled ledger-knife c5, and bearings c3, all integral, all of said parts being constructed and arranged substantially as set forth, whereby the said brack ets hold the axle and the oscillating knife properly relatively to the hopper, substautially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aix my signatu re in presence of two witnesses.

IIIRAM MOORE SMITH. 

